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Lotus CEO nabbed for speeding, gets off with driving suspension

Lotus CEO Jean-Marc Gales likely will take it a tad slower on the A11 near his company’s Norwich headquarters in England. The executive was caught going 102 mph in a 70 mph zone while driving a new Lotus car.

The Telegraph reported on Gales’ run-in with the law Monday and said Gales persuaded the magistrate to forego additional points on his license so he could continue to test new Lotus cars himself. The executive reportedly had eight points on his license before the latest ticket. A typical ruling would have added six more points to his license and a driving suspension of at least six months, according to the Telegraph. Gales got off with just a 30-day driving ban.

Coincidentally, the Lotus chief was nabbed on the same stretch of road in 2014. Then, he received five points on his license and paid a $ 568 fine.

Safe driving proponents, including Joshua Harris, director of campaigns at road safety charity Brake, jumped on the light punishment and reminded drivers that speeding “is selfish, reckless and endangers lives.” He added, “There is no justification for traveling at the speeds demonstrated in this case.”

Gales’ attorney said the executive made a “common-sense decision” and added there are drivers doing far dangerous things on the road such as texting and operating smartphones behind the wheel.

Former McLaren chief Ron Dennis found himself in a similar predicament back in 2011 but didn’t get off so easily. A magistrate’s court issued the former executive a six-month driving ban after running a red light, which pushed him over his points limit.